Zach Berkman - Fast Romantics - Georgia Mooney - Bedolina

Photo - Nicole Mago

Zach Berkman - Alone.

Zach wrote "Alone" at the beginning of the end of a relationship, just when he knew he could feel something slipping away. "The verses describe a crumbling house as a metaphor for a crumbling love. The crooked pictures and fading marks of a thing untended," he says. "I thought about my grandparent’s old farmhouse where we made these recordings, left dusty and in disrepair for so long then restored and renewed, and I wondered whether you could do that with people.

I know that when I wrote the song, the chorus was meant to be sung to someone else. It’s all in the second person, but I hear and sing those lyrics now as directed to self. The repeats of the title are at once mantra, warning, and a facing of fear. If we can’t reconcile our differences, we will end up Alone."

A renowned songwriter whose compositions have been featured on ABC, NBC, The CW, Nickelodeon, The Travel Channel, and more, Zach had found himself at a crossroads artistically. He enlisted his inner circle to help him flesh out what would be his ninth LP, The Heart Of. Recorded over four days in his family's rejuvenated farmhouse in rural Michigan, these songs, which began as a quest for answers, became a beautiful celebration of the journey itself. It's a fantastic listen.

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Photo - Jen Squires

Fast Romantics - Smoke + Lightning.

Toronto duo Fast Romantics offer up another provocative new single and video, “Smoke + Lightning,” taken from their new album, Happiness + Euphoria, scheduled to be released September 29 via Postwar Records.

Fast Romantics never shy away from exploring the complicated or the contemplative. Kirty takes the lead on “Smoke + Lightning” with her ethereal vocals, and offers this insight on the track: "‘Smoke + Lightning’ was written during a time that I felt like I was being swallowed up in the most vivid dreams every night. It started to blur my waking hours with a twisted, colourful dream-life in my sleeping hours. This song is filled with stream-of-consciousness words and images that made up those dreams.”

Fast Romantics have built a reputation as tenacious musical adventurers, working their way up the mountain of classic pop songwriting, eager to carve out a piece of it for themselves. Matthew Angus and Kirty - partners on and off stage, are bringing F.R. fans, ten sprawling new songs, masterfully crafted and equally and intentionally split into two distinct sides this fall.

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Photo - Cybele Malinowski

Georgia Mooney - Full of Moon (Album).

Sydney-based polymath Georgia Mooney has just unveiled her stunning debut solo album ‘Full of Moon’. The record is a meticulously crafted sonic universe, the birth of which marks the stepping forward of a major talent. Carried by Mooney’s soaring ethereal voice over lush, cinematic soundscapes, Full of Moon features the singles ‘War Romance’, ‘Break It Off’, ‘I Am Not In A Hurry’, ‘Soothe You’ and ‘Nothing Is Forever. “Go look at your eyes, they’re full of moon” - Joni Mitchell

This album is for daydreaming. Lyrically, it yearns for connection, examining intimate human relationships, and their variations in perception and fantasy. When stories have many sides, they also have many truths. Musically, it’s a glorious and cinematic sonic fresco, holding beauty, musicality and romance in highest regard. It was recorded remotely over 18 of the strangest months in living memory, linking an all-star band based across three continents. The album grew outward in response to the physical world closing in; even the more intimate songs luxuriate in their drama.

Full of Moon’s songs were penned between All Our Exes Live in Texas tours, on solo writing trips all over the world, half on piano and half on a handmade dulcimer Mooney won in a raffle and subsequently fell in love with. Influences from every member of the Wainwright family, Joni Mitchell, the sophistication of the Great American Songbook and even classical composers sift through the songs seamlessly, alongside fuzzed out guitars and production that evokes the unsettling genius of Kate Bush. It was made during a period of global tragedy, as a way to find solace and catharsis in art and love. This record seeks someone to spend the end of the world with.

Georgia Mooney · Full of Moon

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Bedolina - Bedolina (Album).

Bedolina are thrilled to share their self-released debut album, Bedolina.  Developed at Miner Street Recordings, the album dissects society’s greatest imperfections and their effects on human nature, all with a crooked smile.

Philadelphia’s own Ken Gould is the heart and brain behind sleek new indie rockers, Bedolina. Debuting after previous singles “Yellow Boat” and “C’mon Fun”,  Bedolina continues to test the limits of conventional pop music. With jackhammer beats and smooth guitar solos that flow effervescently throughout, the record’s eight tracks each tell a unique story.

Altogether, Bedolina is an abstract musical cornucopia that channels the listener to ponder the faultiness of the digital age. Centerpieces of the album are “Cicadas” and “The Zoo”, with the former charging into a snapping drum beat with atmospheric sweeps in the background. About halfway through the track, Gould laments “This year’s gone so wrong”, allowing the listener to question what begins as a triumphant, happy-go-lucky sounding tune. Then there’s “The Zoo”, who’s purposely out of tune third chord creates an eerie sense of dissonance, further pulling the audience towards an unsettling atmosphere. Here, the crude message of human beings acting animalistic is put on display, building up to a shocking climax of shrieking and a nasal guitar tone that sounds like a hornet’s nest.

Another album highlight is the final track, “Taking the Canyon”, a saturated bass-heavy dance track that invokes classic shoegaze guitar motifs of My Bloody Valentine. The repeated refrain “Boots marching in a line” showcases the narrator’s disdain for fascist dystopia as it cascades its way into a final minute of drone-like noise. Ending the album on a just as surprising note as it begins, Bedolina show that although this is their debut, their musical gusto and expertise couldn’t be clearer.

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The Hello Darlins - Clementine Valentine - Georgia Mooney - The Grahams - Shadwick Wilde

The Hello Darlins - Don't You Fall.

After making one of the biggest breakthroughs on the international Americana scene with their debut album Go By Feel, Canadian country/roots collective The Hello Darlins is gearing up to return with an even more ambitious collection of material for its official sophomore release, The Alders & The Ashes, due early in 2024.

The group, led by Romani-Canadian musician Candace Lacina and world-renowned Hammond B3 player Mike Little, The Hello Darlins consist of some of Canada’s most in-demand session musicians who came together to forge a distinct hybrid of country, gospel and blues. After three European Tours that included an Americanafest-UK showcase and a support slot with Lucinda Williams at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, as well as a 36-date cross-Canadian tour with blues-roots icon Matt Andersen with sold-out stops at Massey Hall and National Arts Centre along the way, The Hello Darlins are just getting started.

The latest taste of their new music is the single “Don’t You Fall,” an upbeat, radio-friendly track that showcases Candace’s unmistakable vocals. The song delivers a message to persevere through hard times by enjoying the wonder of life, and the love and support of those closest to us. “I wrote it after a dream,” Candace says. “I was watching someone have a conversation with an old tree and they were both saying the same thing to each another: ‘Hold on, friend. You’ve seen so much, but don’t resign, because there is still so much more.’”

The video for “Don’t You Fall” is a playful variation on the same theme. “As a society, we’re so obsessed with preserving our youth, but age is just a relative concept,” says Candace, who conceptualized and created the video based on animation techniques often used in children’s television programs from the 1960s and ‘70s. “Who didn’t love Romper Room, Mr. Dressup, Mr. Rogers, or Sesame Street,” she says. “Kindergarten is the age of innocence and imagination—you never think about getting old when you’re five.”

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Clementine Valentine - The Rope.

Clementine Valentine, the Coromandel-based art-pop duo formerly known as Purple Pilgrims, share a new single ‘The Rope’ off their upcoming album, The Coin that Broke the Fountain Floor, out August 25th via Flying Nun Records. To celebrate the album's release, the duo will perform four intimate shows around the country this September as well as a show in August alongside Roy Montgomery for the Christchurch WORD festival.

Following their previous album singles ‘Endless Night’ and ‘Time and Tide’, the new single ‘The Rope’ is a captivating siren song, that entices the listener, inviting them into a world of both safety and potential darkness. Produced by Randall Dunn — known for his work with acclaimed artists like Björk, Oneohtrix Point Never and Jim Jarmusch —the track features expressive percussion by Matt Chamberlain, who’s worked with the likes of Lana Del Rey, David Bowie, Fiona Apple to name a few

The accompanying visuals, directed by the Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland-based duo PICTVRE (Veronica Crockford-Pound and Joseph Griffen) and made with the support of NZ on Air, draw inspiration from 1960s films such as Jean-Luc Godard's sci-fi/noir classic 'Alphaville' and Ingmar Bergman's psychological drama 'Persona'. Styled by Tom So, the duo wears all local designers including Emma Jing, Wynn Hamlyn, and Shannen Young. Makeup and hair styling by Kiekie Stanners and Vanessa Mitchell.

 

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Photo - Cybele Malinowski

Georgia Mooney - Nothing Is Forever.

‘Nothing Is Forever’ takes off like a train in both sound and spirit; an anthemic slice of triumphant alt-folk that will resonate with fans of First Aid Kit and Courtney Marie Andrews with its tumbling drums, potent trumpets, and lush, swelling open chords in a widescreen arrangement featuring dulcimer, mandolin, harmonium, trombone, guitars and bass.

Penned at a high point of the #MeToo movement, the track remains startlingly relevant with its shots at the kind of misogynist that poses as enlightened; “arguably the most damaging type of sexist… the wolf in sheep’s clothing” affirms Mooney, and is ultimately an aspirational call-to-arms that she says promises “Nothing is forever, not even the patriarchy.”

This evocative tone is shared by the track’s cinematic visuals, directed by Nick Mckk (Kate Miller-Heidke, Jen Cloher, Alice Skye) on the land of the Dharug and Gundungurra people in the so-called Blue Mountains. Characterized by sweeping cinematography and long, slow zooms, the video finds Mooney and her dulcimer in an ethereal, serene state against a backdrop of majestic ancient trees, rocks, and waterfalls - a perfect visual complement to the inherent drama of the single. 

Of the video, Mooney says “With dulcimer in tow, Nick and I scrambled through bush and fell (literally) into creeks, finding captivating and evocative places for me to perch, strum and sing into the trees. We started at noon and by nightfall had explored waterfalls, valleys, and watched the sunset over the treetops. I enjoyed the contrast of singing ‘Nothing Is Forever’ in an environment so ancient. One wonders how many people and birds have sung to those trees. The video became a love letter to that part of the world, which of course I hope is forever.”

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The Grahams - Glory Bound.

The Grahams have shared their uplifting anthem “Glory Bound,” the next offering from the duo’s upcoming self-titled album, out September 8 via 3Sirens Music Group. Arriving with a golden-hued music video showcasing the importance of family and love, this meditative song finds The Grahams reflecting on life’s journey, regrets and all, with bright eyes toward a hopeful future. “Glory Bound” was recently featured by Magnet Magazine and is one of ten reimaginings slated to appear on The Grahams, which sees the duo revisiting fan favorites to reflect their artistic growth over the last decade. The Grahams is now available for pre-order.

“On ‘Glory Bound,’ what was once a bold, from-the-chest manifesto becomes a shimmering reflection on hope and regret, building around a subtle, hypnotizing riff,” shares Alyssa Graham, who is one half of The Grahams with Doug Graham. “Listening back to my approach, originally and now, I'm a different person. You can hear it in my voice.”

“Glory Bound” follows the serotonin-boosting “The Wild One,” which was praised by the The Alternate Root, Americana UK, Americana Music Association and more upon its release. On The Grahams, the duo pays homage to a fulfilled commitment they made a decade ago: three concept albums over 10 years, which found them exploring America and its rich tapestry of music. The new self-titled album takes 10 songs from The Grahams’ catalog and pours them through a new filter – what they’ve learned, how they’ve changed, and perhaps most centrally, how they sound today. While these songs bear some resemblance to their Americana roots, they lean harder in a new direction, weaving threads of the duo’s other influences: the bands they grew up with, the input of collaborators, and the ever-evolving love affair that now includes their child. Track by track, the changes are transformative, stripping the songs down in some cases and dressing them up in others.

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Shadwick Wilde - Without You.

Shadwick Wilde has released "Without You," the second single from his upcoming solo record Forever Home, produced by renowned Nashville drummer Ken Coomer (Billy Bragg, Will Hoge, Margo Price, Vance Joy, Al Green, Wilco and Uncle Tupelo), available everywhere September 22nd.

“Without You” is an existentialist love ballad… examining the frailty of memory, the truth of impermanence, and our clinging to one another. Wilde, who lives with major depressive disorder, is a self-described Buddhist-Nihilist, but credits meditation, therapy and a focus on compassion and presence to saving his life. The recording of this album was a practice in surrender for Shadwick… Coomer pushed for live recording and minimal takes to preserve the spontaneity of the creative process, and to let the songs unfold on their own.

“Without You” was the first song recorded live as a group with Shadwick on guitar, Coomer on Drums, and Ted Pecchio on Bass. Sam Wilson was brought in to add some beautifully tasteful guitar work, and Shadwick overdubbed piano and synthesizer parts, resulting in a beautiful rich orchestration to juxtapose the song’s darker subject matter.

 

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ANGHARAD - Natalie Gray - The Bablers - Georgia Mooney

ANGHARAD - Because I Am A Woman.

ANGHARAD is an artist and songwriter with fire, passion and unflinching honesty at the core of all her music. The first single from her debut solo album had to be ‘Because I Am A Woman’, a confident and positive ‘call to arms’.

As ANGHARAD explains: “‘Because I Am A Woman’ was written as a response to the widely accepted beliefs in the music industry that it’s not possible to be a mother and have a successful career.

I received some hostile reactions myself when I announced that I was pregnant. I was told that I was unambitious and that I was no longer serious about following a career in music. These outdated, sexist attitudes need to change.

This is a call to arms to any woman who has experienced similar attitudes and expressing the need to stand up for change. Rather than getting angry about it, this song says “yes we can!” And “yes, we are capable of anything!” I believe it is possible to have both, and do both well, when society will allow us.

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Natalie Gray - The Me I Pretend To Be.

The Me I Pretend To Be is the latest single from Synth-Pop artist Natalie Gray. Grabbing inspiration from some of Natalie’s favourite artists such as Cyndi Lauper and Madonna, as well as more recent artists such as Paramore, Kings Elliot and Lawrence, this song embodies the desperation of losing yourself and hiding behind a smile and a cliche whilst it feels that your world could crumble at any second.

Following the success of Natalie’s previous single “Fire” supported by BBC introducing, The Me I Pretend To Be steps away from her usual upbeat and colourful sound and brings a more honest and nostalgic feel, touching on the reality of living with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, a theme that a lot of us can relate to.  This latest track is Natalie’s first time opening up about her own personal experience with living with PTSD and struggling to find her old self.

Instead of reaching for your hairbrush and throwing your best 80s dance moves infront of the mirror, The Me I Pretend To Be will have you opening your old photo albums and coming face to face with your own demons.

Natalie has teamed up once again with childhood friend and personal agony aunt Jack Craig, (the producer behind “Dance Floor” and “One In A Million”) to create this vulnerable and heart string grabbing song.

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The Bablers - Mr King.

Bablers founder, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Arto Tamminen – who's led the band, now alongside Janne Haavisto (drums, vocals), Pekka Gröhn (bass, keyboards, vocals), and Hannu Pikkarainen (guitar, vocals) since its late '70s genesis – tells us about the track and how it difers from the boisterous guitar pop of the two prior single. “It's built to be a classic big piano pop ballad, the kind you've rarely heard since the golden days of pop.” And that's exactly what “Mr. King” delivers: intimate, intense, bold, confdent, and powerful, the tune has a million dollar melody that sticks in your mind, and a timeless message. As with all of the tracks from the LIKE THE FIRST TIME sessions, the song is played 100% live with original instruments: upright piano, electric guitar, bass and drums. The band’s sound is glued together, tight yet fexible, and the take heard here has a magic and a mood you can almost touch. It makes you listen, demanding attention that will be rewarded.

Tamminen lays out the backstory behind the emotive lyrics, ofering insight into the choice to release the song as the English monarchy – and so much of the world – enters a new era. “It’s been a long day. A lot of public activities. Horses and soldiers. Roaring audiences. Applause. Flags. Smiling faces,” explains Arto. “Finally, at the castle, someone is knocking at the door. It's troubadour asking permission to sing a song, crafted especially for the occasion. Permission is granted. He starts to sing, and in the chorus asks the most important question...”

Both the deft handling of the subject matter and the richness of the music mark a true change of pace after the previous two singles from The Bablers. That versatility won't surprise longtime fans or anyone who's heard the band's thrillingly eclectic and lovingly crafted 2021 Big Stir Records album PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS. But it's all too rare to hear a new work of this depth and purity of sound on the radio these days, and that alone is reason to celebrate another triumph from THE BABLERS, who are rapidly ascending to the throne they have long deserved: the Kings of Finnish Guitar Pop, and royalty on the global stage as well.

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Georgia Mooney - Break It Off.

Pulling inspiration from the theatrical sounds of ABBA and Rufus Wainwright, ‘Break It Off’ is pure high drama, a melodramatic and shamelessly camp take on infatuation ending in pain, fuelled by desperate yearning and stubborn sentimentality.

Georgia Mooney shares “it is about being powerless to somebody’s charms. When a relationship is terribly bad for you, but the infatuation is overwhelming. When you’re not receiving enough in return, there is a desperation that the person will have a miraculous epiphany and realise they’re actually madly in love. There is an inability to let go of that hope, to the extent where the only option is to be dumped ruthlessly!” Mooney’s celestial vocals dance above luscious layers of instrumentation: gentle piano, a 70s-esque synth, and shimmering strings, all buoyed by bass and shuffling drums reminiscent of classic 60s pop.

 The ‘Break It Off’ video sees a dazzling 80s-worthy collaboration with Eora-founded aerobics queens Retrosweat. Devised as “if Pat Benatar made an instructional workout video”, Georgia Mooney sings as a portrait on the wall of a beautiful, surreal set that the trio of dancers perform in. As well as being wonderfully theatrical, it’s also the avenue through which Mooney presents an ode to one of her greatest loves - Benedict Cumberbach. She shares, “It is no secret that I have something of a celebrity crush on Benedict Cumberbatch. I do not suffer from celebrity worship syndrome in general, nor do I ever get star struck, I cannot explain the spell that was cast on me when first I clapped eyes and ears on Cumberbatch. Surely something to do with the rather lovely, clever-sounding accent and the period costume attire…When I wrote the lyric “you’re not a patch on Benedict Cumberbatch”, I gave myself the rest of the day off.”

Georgia Mooney's upcoming debut album ‘Full Of Moon’ features previously released singles ‘War Romance’ and ‘I Am Not In A Hurry’. The record is a meticulously crafted sonic universe that tells stories of the beauty and potency of vulnerability, and the complexities of connection and perception, carried by Mooney’s soaring ethereal voice over lush, cinematic soundscapes.

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Sofie Winterson - Pitou - Georgia Mooney - Stephen Wilson Jr

Sofie Winterson - Jump.

Amsterdam-based musician Sofie Winterson announces details of her forthcoming album Southern Skies produced by Benny Sings via Excelsior Recordings in June. The project is a continuation and expansion of their 2019 collaborative EP Moral and new single "Jump" offers up more of the accidental magic which is at the core of their partnership.

"Jump" chronicles uncertainty yet offers soothing reassurance with its lilting, warm indie-pop sound. A nod to the rest of the album which saw Sofie embrace simplicity and foster a new perspective. Of the new single Sofie says: "Jump is about wanting to make a big change in life, but not knowing where that change will take you. It’s meant to comfort you in this state of insecurity. It can encourage you not to overthink where that change will lead you, since you will be a different person by the time you’ll get there."

Created in primarily Benny Sings' canal-hugging studio in Amsterdam, Southern Skies was formed as an act of stripping-back and growing as a songwriter. Sofie’s last full-length album Sophia Electric instead acted as a way to expand her work as a producer. Her varied influences, from the soul and folk she grew up on to the dream-pop of her university years can all be heard as part of the album’s eclectic palette which leans in a more minimal direction than before.

Putting the lyrics and storytelling front and centre, Sofie’s love of reading has never been more evident than in the way she approached writing for this record. “What I try to do in my lyrics [is] to find the best way to describe a thought,” she says, “the thought could be anything, it’s always my challenge to try and find exactly the right words.” Noting that her favourite part of reading is not so much following the narrative, but revelling in the descriptions of situations.

Featuring original vocal takes and lyrics that were written in the room, it marked a new way of working for Sofie, with Benny encouraging her to approach writing in a different way, a more technical way. Pulling inspiration from both Adrienne Lenker and Rachel Cusk’s ‘Transit’ in tandem, what’s clear is Sofie Winterson’s never-failing ability to tell a story with grace, immense consideration and the freedom to be projected upon and moulded as her listener’s see fit.

 

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Pitou - Knife.

Dutch artist Pitou’s musical awakening came from an unlikely source. From a very young age, she developed an unexplainable interest in classical music – her father would often find her crouched down by the radio, in search of the sound of orchestras and choirs. From the age of 9, Pitou started singing in a children’s choir, and she soon found herself performing at the baptism of Catharina Amalia, the Princess of the Netherlands, and in renowned music halls throughout Europe. “Singing together with other singers, making harmonies together, made me feel like nothing had ever done before,” she says of that moment.

It's a memory that continues to inspire. Big Tear, her long-awaited debut album, is a rich, fearlessly creative collection of alternative pop that draws from her classical background; unexpected harmonies and song structures, vocal layering, loops, wistful melodies, and classical instruments all swirled together in stylish, clever ways.

The record also marks her own development, both as a performer and a songwriter. “I knew I wanted to move away from the guitar being self-evidently always there,” she says. “I also wanted to find out what it felt like to tell the stories of my songs on stage with just my body and voice, without the physical restriction of the guitar.” Eager to move into other sonic worlds, she embraced the creative possibilities of different instruments – piano, harp, synths – and using computer programs to build and refine her music; some tracks were written entirely on piano or using software.

To celebrate the release of her new album, today Pitou has shared a new music video, 'Knife'. Of the video, she says: "'Knife' is the emotional axis of this record, very raw in its sentiment, which is always a challenge to translate into visuals. The song is about a person deciding to break away from a bond, for their own sake. I visualised a couple living in a small, quiet home. One half of the couple would be a human, the other a faceless but ever-present being.

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Georgia Mooney - I Am Not In A Hurry.

Eora/Sydney based musician Georgia Mooney (All Our Exes Live In Texas), shares her empowering new single ‘I Am Not In A Hurry’. Celebrating freedom and all the adventures born along the way, the track comes as a glacial moment of escapism. Following her cinematic debut solo single ‘War Romance’, ‘I Am Not In A Hurry’ is the second single taken from Mooney’s to-be-announced debut solo album, and is out now globally through Nettwerk.

A beautifully matter-of-fact bucking of pressures to stay in one place or settle down, ‘I Am Not In A Hurry’ was written in Florence, Italy just after a spontaneous three-day holiday marriage to a painter in Skopelos, Greece. Its sonic warmth comes via a dulcimer that Mooney won in a raffle in Canberra - a suitably whimsical fit for a song that celebrates the impulsive, unexpected moments in life; the impossibility of settling down when something new and exciting could be around the corner.

The track is accompanied by a diaristic music video bursting with nostalgia and a lust for life. Georgia Mooney shares on the video, “The video for ‘I Am Not In A Hurry’ is comprised entirely of little snapshots of moments from the last fifteen years of my life. Some of them are small and gentle like a cat on a fence, some of them are more momentous, love affairs, big concerts, cross-continental adventures. The video is personal, nostalgic and whimsical. It is no more extraordinary a life than any other, it is just a little open window into one.”

I Am Not In A Hurry was Co-produced with Noah Georgeson (Cate Le Bon, Devendra Banhart, Marlon Williams, Joanna Newsom), the release itself is a tribute to Joni Mitchell, one of Mooney’s musical and personal idols - and her song Cactus Tree, in both spirit and sound. “Mitchell (a painter, poet, songwriter, traveller) is herself hard to pin down”, says Mooney.

On ‘I Am Not In A Hurry’, Georgia Mooney shares, “I was in Florence for almost a month writing songs… It is no wonder that this song emerged there. In those weeks, travelling alone and caught up in the romance of it all, I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to stay in one place again. How could you when there is so much to explore and there are so many people to meet? This song is about internal restlessness too and the desire to throw off the expectation society imposes on us to settle down, find a partner, have a baby. Why the hurry?”

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Stephen Wilson Jr - American Gothic (feat. Hailey Whitters).

Southern Indiana-born, Nashville-based artist Stephen Wilson Jr. announced he has signed to Big Loud Records, and released his debut EP bon aqua. The seven-song collection compiles 6 previously released songs and the brand new single “American Gothic” (feat. Hailey Whitters) that was co-written with Whitters. Wilson is currently on the road supporting Whitters and will hit the road with The Lone Bellow next month before performing at Bourbon and Beyond Festival and CMA Fest later this year.

“Fellow cornfield kid, Hailey Whitters and I met some years ago writing songs and she had this beautiful idea inspired by her favorite Grant Wood painting to showcase parts of the American cultural fabric using nostalgia and the same duality that the painting seems to represent. We ran with it and sang it from the top of our lungs,” Wilson explains about the song.

“The first time I heard Stephen Wilson Jr. was at The Basement a few years back and he absolutely blew me away.... his writing, his songs and his live show is next level. He’s one of a kind and this genre is so much for the better with him in it,” Hailey Whitters proclaimed.

About his debut EP, Wilson adds: “Bon Aqua: Good water. Everything starts with good water. We are made of mostly water. The world is mostly water. As a microbiologist, I used to test water for pharmaceutical companies and everything from shampoo to aspirin to pet food to anything you can think of requires water.  Not just any water… good water. I was in charge of making sure the water was good. In and around Bon Aqua, Tennessee is coincidentally where I wrote and conceived most of this EP and filmed most of the videos and visual aspects. Hence the name, it is known for its good water and it only made sense for it to all start there."

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